Afghan conflict spawns new word

A RISE in attacks on soldiers in Afghanistan has led to the term "green-on-blue" being anointed word of the year for 2012.

The term now means an attack on one's own side by a force regarded as neutral and the Australian National Dictionary Centre says it has gained prominence this year.

"While 'green-on-blue' is not exclusively Australian, it has come to have significance in Australia in 2012 due to the number of Australian soldiers who have lost their lives in such attacks," centre director Amanda Laugesen said on Tuesday.

"In these circumstances we felt it appropriate to recognise what has undeniably become a part of our national consciousness, our history and our language, especially amongst younger generations."

Dr Laugesen said the rise of "green-on-blue" in our language followed the history of other Australian words like digger and Anzac that came from military conflicts.

It beat "brotox" (botox for men) for the top spot among the wordy experts at the Australian National University-based centre.

Also on the short list were computer science term "qubit" - a quantum bit or quantum piece of information - and the description for the growing 85-and-over demographic, "fourth age".